


Everybody wonders what it would be like to love you

by Sparklyfairymira (myonetruelove)



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Accidental Marriage, Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkwardness, Characters Must Share Something, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Intoxication, Marriage, Meet-Ugly, Mistaken for Being in a Relationship, POV Bellamy Blake, POV Clarke Griffin, POV Multiple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:15:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28283049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myonetruelove/pseuds/Sparklyfairymira
Summary: Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin are household names thanks to their music. They belong to the same label so they often work together on duets—even though they can't stand one another. Their first meeting is disastrous and six years later they still can't get along.
Relationships: Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin, Josephine Lightbourne/Gabriel Santiago | Xavier, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 65
Collections: Chopped: Holiday Trope Exchange





	Everybody wonders what it would be like to love you

**Author's Note:**

> Happy holidays everyone!! By the time this is revealed it will be past Christmas but was written for the Chopped Holiday edition. I don't even know who my recipient is yet, but I certainly hope whoever you are that you enjoy this. For this holiday exchange, we were given a ship and four tropes. My four tropes were: Celebrity AU, Meet Ugly, Characters must share something & Characters aren't together but are mistaken to be. 
> 
> I'm currently taking part in t100fic4blm initiative taking prompts. If you're interested in prompting me or one of our other writers/creators please check out [our carrd here](t100fic-for-blm.carrd.co).
> 
> If you're interested in seeing what else I'm writing and what my planned publication dates for that is, please check out my Tumblr post [HERE](https://sparklyfairymira.tumblr.com/post/632973715782729728/prompt-fic-updates). 
> 
> Rating is due to the language. Title is from Taylor Swift's "Gold Rush."

Bellamy pushes open the door to his label, running so far behind. He didn’t mean to oversleep, but he had a show the night before. It was midnight before the show was over and then going to sleep right after a show was next to impossible. Why did Jaha and Kane think that a ten o’clock meeting was a good idea the morning after a show? Sometimes he thinks that they just don’t think.

Bellamy sighs, dodging people in the lobby as he dashes for the elevator. He barrels into someone stepping through the doors. “Shit,” he curses under his breath as he reaches out to steady the petite blonde.

The blonde jerks from his hold, eyes flashing with anger as she glares at him. Which honestly he gets seeing as she is now wearing the smoothie that she’d been carrying. “Why don’t you look where you’re going?”

And Bellamy knows that he’s in the wrong—he really does, but he’s already in a bad mood from lack of sleep and there is just something about her tone that pisses him off. “The same could be said for you.” 

“Seriously?” The blonde’s eyebrows shoot up as she shakes her head. “You’re the one who ran into me and I’m the one currently wearing their smoothie, so maybe an apology isn’t too much to ask for.”

Bellamy shrugs. “Well, you’ll be waiting a long time for that apology.” He moves around her, hand sliding between the elevator doors just before they close. As soon as they’re open wide enough for him to duck inside he does. He presses the button for the correct floor before moving back to the center of the elevator. The last thing he sees as the door shut is one very pissed off blonde flipping him the bird.

In normal circumstances, Bellamy would feel bad not only for the fact that he’d run into her but also for his behavior afterward. But today? Today he gives zero fucks. He’s annoyed that he’s awake right now and being summoned into the office for a meeting—a meeting that no one would tell him anything about. So yeah, he can’t find it in himself to care about some poor blonde wearing her smoothie.

Bellamy rolls his neck as he approaches his floor. He needs to attempt to not be so irritated when he walks into Jaha’s office. Otherwise, there’s a very good chance that this meeting will not go well and as much as it pains him, he prefers to stay on both Jaha and Kane’s good sides. And the fact that he’s almost an hour late isn’t going to leave either in the best of moods.

He hops off the elevator as soon as the doors open, dashing down the hallway to Jaha’s office. He raps on the ajar door before pushing it open. He finds Jaha and Kane chatting, both of their heads snapping up when Bellamy enters. “I am so sorry that I’m late.”

“It’s fine.” Jaha waves off his apology. “We know you had a show last night. We’re just glad that you could come in.”

“I caught the first half of the show,” Kane says as he leans against Jaha’s desk. “The crowd loves you.”

Bellamy sinks into the chair opposite Jaha as he shoots Kane a quick grin. “Thanks.” Then he turns back to Jaha. “So what’s this meeting about?”

Jaha laughs. “Always straight to the point. I like that about you, Blake. So here’s the deal. We need to figure out a time when you can record a duet.”

“What do you mean record a duet? Since when am I doing a duet?” Bellamy demands as he leans forward in his chair, eyes narrowed at Jaha.

Jaha’s expression doesn’t change at Bellamy’s tone. “It means exactly what it sounds like. We have a new artist that we want to get some exposure, so you’re going to do a duet with her.” He waves his hand dismissively. 

“This is good news, Bellamy,” Kane throws in. “You’re one of our top artists right now, so we want to use some of your clout to help out the new artists.”

Bellamy leans back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. He knows exactly what Kane is trying to do. He’s trying to boost his ego to make him feel good about doing something that he doesn’t want to—but that’s not the way to get Bellamy to do anything, which Kane should know. But they do control his career and he knows that he has to play ball.

“So who’s this new artist?” Bellamy asks, looking between the two men.

Jaha clears his throat. “Clarke Griffin.”

Bellamy stares at Jaha for a moment, blinking. He’s not sure that he heard him correctly. His eyes flash to Kane. “Isn’t that your stepdaughter?”

“Yes.” Kane clears his throat. “But that has nothing to do with this. She’s talented and we didn’t want her to sign with anyone else so we signed her.”

Bellamy is pissed. “You’re kidding, right? This is nepotism at its finest,” he scoffs. “You want to use my talent to make up for her lack thereof because you want to make sure she doesn’t go crying to your wife about how you’re so mean to her.”

There’s a laugh behind Bellamy, sharp and unamused. “Of course the man that spilled my smoothie all over me and wouldn’t even apologize thinks I’m a whiny, untalented brat before he’s ever even heard me sing.” The blonde—Clarke—slips into the chair beside him.

Bellamy turns to face her, and he’s sure she’s pissed—he would be if he were in her place. But he can’t tell from the look on her face. Her expression is unreadable as she meets his eyes for a moment before turning her attention to Kane and Jaha. “So when are we doing this?”

For whatever reason all this does is piss Bellamy off more. He’s aware that he’s overreacting, but he can’t seem to stop himself. “I didn’t agree to this.”

“Bellamy,” Kane starts.

“Look, I get it. You’re some rockstar god, and I’m the boss’s daughter. You don’t want to do this. You’ve made your point.” Clarke pins him in place with her gaze. “But I know contract law, so I know that you have no say in the matter. If they want you to record a duet with me then you have to or you lose your contract. And depending on the contract, you could owe them a shit ton of money.”

Bellamy bites his cheek to keep himself from immediately retorting. First, he’s curious how she knows about contract law but doesn’t want to ask. Second, she’s right and they both know it. He sighs as he turns back to Jaha, forcing a smile. “Like the lady asked, when are we doing this?”

* * *

**Six Years Later**

Clarke sighs as the car pulls up to the hotel. She doesn’t want to be here, and she doesn’t want to be doing this. It’s not the concert she doesn’t want to do—she loves doing those, especially when they’re for charity. What she doesn’t want to do is deal with Bellamy Blake. Six years. That’s how long she’s known the man, and that’s how long they haven’t gotten along. After a disastrous first meeting, they just couldn’t ever seem to find their footing. 

They butted heads the entire time they’d been recording the duet—which had hit number one the week it released and stayed there for twelve weeks. It had been a shock to all of them but made sense to Clarke. The song was and still is amazing—not to mention the way that Bellamy and Clarke’s voices complemented each other’s. Which is crazy to think about considering the way that they don’t complement each other in real life.

They’ve recorded over a dozen duets and toured together three times—somehow managing to not kill one another. This year Jaha had the brilliant idea to have them record a Christmas album—an entire album recorded together. That had been fun. 

It surprised no one when it hit number one almost immediately after it dropped. Now they have the charity concert to do, but at least Josephine and Gabriel will be there as buffers. The concert is the following day on Christmas Eve, but the label had brought them in a day early so that they could do interviews—which are always Clarke’s favorite thing to do with Bellamy( _not)_.

She doesn’t understand why every fan and every reporter seems to think that she and Bellamy are secretly dating. She gets asked about it in every interview she does, which she’s never understood. They don’t hang out outside of label events. Hell, she wouldn’t even have his number if it weren’t for the fact that they sometimes write music together, and she needs to be able to contact him.

“Miss?”

Clarke’s head jerks to the driver who has turned around to look at her. She forces a smile on her face. “I’m sorry, I was lost in my thoughts.” 

The man looks embarrassed. “I’m sorry to ask this, but my daughter? She adores your music and she would kill me if I didn’t ask for an autograph.”

Clarke’s laughs, a genuine smile sliding across her lips. “Of course.” She leans forward to take the paper and pen he offers her. “But I think that you’ll win number one dad if we take a selfie.”

“Really, miss? I would never expect-”

“Of course. It’s my pleasure,” Clarke cuts him off as she hands him back the signed paper and leans forward while he pulls out his phone. 

The driver takes a quick picture before climbing out of the car to open her door. “Thank you very much, Miss Griffin. This will be the best Christmas present for her.”

“Merry Christmas.” Clarke allows him to help her from the car as the bellhop moves around the vehicle to pull her bags from the trunk. She shoots him a smile as she makes her way inside the hotel, glancing at her dad’s watch that sits on her wrist. She has a little over an hour until she has to leave for the first set of interviews. That should give her enough time to take a bath and relax a little. The flight from New York to Las Vegas is just under six hours, but any time on a plane isn’t exactly comfortable—even when flying first class. 

“What do you mean there’s been a mix-up?” 

Clarke can hear Bellamy’s raised voice as soon as she steps in the door. She wonders what the hell has him up in arms already. She knows that he’s just coming off tour, so she isn’t surprised that he beat her here. She also knows that Josephine and Gabriel have already checked in, having arrived the night before. 

Clarke makes her way over to the front desk where Kane and Bellamy are talking animatedly with the woman behind the desk. “Hey,” she offers as she walks up, wanting to let them know that she’s there.

Bellamy turns to her, eyes flashing with annoyance—and for once it’s not because of her. “Oh, good. Would someone like to tell Clarke about the mix up so she can be as pissed off as me?”

“Bellamy, calm down. We’ll figure it out,” Kane tries to reason with him.

Bellamy shrugs. “Okay, well then I’ll tell her.” He grins at her, sarcastic as always. “So great news. There are only two rooms booked—one for Josephine and Gabriel and one for Kane. Kane has been ever so kind to let you and I share his room and he’s going to go home. Oh, and there are no other rooms available anywhere because it’s Christmas.”

Clarke stares at him for a moment, blinking. Did he just say that they’re going to have to share a room? One that was meant for Kane, which means that there’s only one bed. Nope. Not going to happen.

Clarke turns her attention to Kane. “Please tell me that he’s joking.”

“He’s not.” Kane sighs. “Someone screwed up at the label. I’ve been on the phone for the last two hours trying to find another room anywhere and there’s nothing available.”

Clarke shakes her head. Well, there went her relaxing bath before interviews. Maybe she can convince Josephine to bunk with her for the next two nights and Gabriel can bunk with Bellamy?

Bellamy nudges her arm. “If you’re thinking the same thing that I was when I heard the news—asking Josephine and Gabriel to split up for the next two nights—I already tried. Josie laughed at me and slammed the door in my face.”

“Of course she did.” Clarke shakes her head. “I’ll try to talk to her later, but for now I guess we’re roommates.”

Bellamy wrinkles his nose as he looks down at her. “Why aren’t you more upset about this?”

Clarke laughs. “Shit happens, Bellamy. You can’t let it get to you or you’ll spend your life miserable. Plus just think, now someone can let it slip that we’re sharing a hotel room and there can be more rumors of our dating.”

“Great.” Bellamy rolls his eyes before turning back to Kane. “Fine. Do we at least get keys?”

“Of course.” Kane turns to the woman behind the desk once more as Clarke takes a moment looking around the lobby. 

The hotel has gone all out for the holidays with four Christmas trees in the lobby alone. It looks beautiful. She just wishes that it felt more like Christmas. Kane leads Bellamy and Clarke to the room that they will be sharing—which she should note she is _not_ excited about, but like she’d told Bellamy, shit happens. 

Kane’s room turns out to be the penthouse suite so there’s more than enough room for both of them, but she’d been correct—there’s only one bed. As she glances at the couch in the room she can tell that it isn’t a pull-out and it doesn’t look comfortable enough to sleep on. Great. 

The bathroom is lavish and she sighs when she sees the grandiose bathtub. She _really_ wants to take a bath. Fuck it. Bellamy can just deal with it and let her take a bath. This room is both of theirs after all. She reaches into her bag to pull a tip out for the bellboy, but Bellamy is already passing along a bill discreetly to both bellhops and they’re on their way. 

Kane stands near the door, rubbing his hands together nervously. She grins to herself, knowing that he’s waiting for them to blow up on him. But she’s not going to do that. So what if she has to spend the next two days around Bellamy constantly? It’s not the worst thing that’s ever happened to her. 

“Hey, Blake, do you mind if I take a bath before we have to leave for the interviews?” Clarke asks, voice neutral. She’s being nice, but she can’t let him know how much she wants it because then he might say no—it wouldn’t be the first time he’d disagreed with her just because he can.

Bellamy opens his mouth to say something before snapping it shut, eyes flicking between Clarke and Kane. “Not at all, but would you mind if I take a quick shower to wash the travel off?”

Clarke inclines her head to him, waving him into the bathroom as she makes her way to her bag. She glances up at Kane and lets out a laugh as she sees his expression. “You do know that Bellamy and I both adults and while we might not like one another, we do know how to act like adults.”

“You’ve shown otherwise in the past.” Kane grimaces. “Maybe I should stay and make sure that the two of you don’t kill each other."

“First,” Clarke starts as she begins to unpack her small bag. “Mom would kill you if you aren’t home in time for Christmas. She’s already pissed at you for making it so that I won’t be there. Second, where the hell would you stay?”  
  


Kane shrugs. “You’re not wrong. But also, it worries me that the two of you are being cordial. You’re going to blow up at one another as soon as I leave, aren’t you?”

“Oh, ye of little faith.” Clarke shakes her head as she opens a drawer and slides her clothes inside. “If we’re stuck sharing a room I’m going to do my damndest to get along with him, because if we fight I have nowhere to run to now do I?”

Clarke ignores Kane’s dubious look as she continues to unpack the few belongings that she’d brought with her for the two-day trip. Bellamy exits the bathroom within 10 minutes which leaves her plenty of time to relax in the bath. She waves goodbye to Kane before ducking inside the bathroom.

Is sharing a room with Bellamy ideal? No, of course, it’s not. But what else is she going to do? She moves to run the bath only to find that it’s already full—with bubbles and everything. Had Bellamy done something _nice_ for her? Maybe he’s of the same mind. If they have to share a room then it might be best to get along.

Clarke lets her clothes fall to the floor before climbing into the bath which is the perfect temperature. She makes a note to thank Bellamy when she’s done. She sets an alarm on her phone before leaning back and closing her eyes. She doesn’t know if they can make it a full two days without fighting—honestly, that’s very unlikely—but maybe they can make sharing a room work. She sure hopes so, because she does not want to spend Christmas miserable.

* * *

“C’mon, Gabe. Do me a solid please?” Bellamy begs, eyes flickering over to where Clarke and Josephine are talking—a conversation that he assumes is similar to the one that he is currently having.

Gabriel laughs. “Thanks, but Josie said no and I’m not of the mind to piss off my fiancé, but feel free to ask her again.”

Bellamy’s brow furrows as he frowns, looking to the two women again. It doesn’t look like Clarke is getting anywhere with Josephine. Well, shit. Guess they’ll just have to suck it up and be adults—which is always hard for him when he’s around Clarke. Which is ridiculous. It’s been six years and yet neither of them seem to be able to let go of their initial meeting. Which he gets why Clarke is pissed, but he still can’t bring himself to understand why he’s so hellbent on remaining at odds.

_Liar._

Bellamy shakes his head, pushing the thought down. Nope, he’s not going to dwell on that—on the fact that he’s stupid attracted to Clarke and that because he knows she’d never be interested, he spins that desire into annoyance. He’s fully aware that he’s an idiot.

“Now that the interviews are done, do you wanna grab dinner with Josie and me?” Gabriel asks, pulling Bellamy from his thoughts. “At least that’ll give us some time to play buffers for you two.”

Bellamy considers him for a moment before nodding. “That’s probably a good idea. And maybe some heavy drinking.”

Gabriel laughs, rolling his eyes. “The two of you are idiots.” 

“Are we talking about what idiots Bellamy and Clarke are again?” Josephine asks as she sidles up, ducking under Gabriel’s arm. “That’s my favorite topic.”

“Josie, you need to get a life if that’s your favorite topic.” Clarke rolls her eyes as she steps up beside Bellamy. “Plus, we all know that your favorite topic is you.”

“Well, that is true.” Josephine grins at Clarke.

Bellamy had been sure that he would hate Josephine—she’s literally everything that he’d thought Clarke would be but isn’t. But somehow having Gabriel at her side seems to calm her down and make her more bearable to Bellamy. 

Gabriel is one of his closest friends—has been since he and Josephine were signed to the label four years ago. They’d opened for him on tour one summer before moving to open for Clarke. They were considered folk-rock, which meshed well with both Clarke’s pop/rock combo and Bellamy’s alternative rock. That’s why they were roped into the charity concert along with Bellamy and Clarke.

“We were thinking of heading to dinner,” Gabriel offers before dropping his head to press a kiss to Josephine’s head.

“And drinking—heavy drinking.” Bellamy turns to Clarke, offering her a tight smile. “I figure copious amounts of alcohol should help with us having to share a room.”

Clarke laughs. “That’s probably a good call.”

So they head to dinner, Josephine and Gabriel teasing them about the reporters once again trying to get Bellamy and Clarke to admit that they were secretly dating. It’s been like this ever since they released that first duet. He’s never understood it, but Octavia says they have _chemistry_. Whatever the hell that’s supposed to mean.

They find a little hole in the wall Mexican restaurant without much of a wait starting on a pitcher of margaritas and shots of tequila before they even order their food. By the time their food arrives Bellamy is two shots and one margarita in and he has to admit that this was a good idea. It’s easier to get along with Clarke when his inhibitions are lowered.

Once they’ve finished eating they decide to move on, finding a club on the Strip that is packed but has a VIP area where they can hang out without worrying about being bothered. And they keep the drinks coming.

Bellamy finds his eyes on Clarke more often than he’d like to admit to himself. She looks beautiful with her blonde hair turned blue beneath the club lights, eyes flashing with laughter and glassy from the alcohol. When she leans against him, he doesn’t think as he puts his arms around her shoulders. Nothing wrong with that, right? It feels perfectly natural to him. But he’s drunk enough that he misses the look that Josephine and Gabriel share. Maybe these two days won’t be so bad after all.

* * *

Clarke wakes slowly with a dry mouth and a pounding head. She blinks her eyes against the little bit of light making its way into the room through the crack in the curtains. She tries to move but finds herself pinned to the bed by something heavy. What the hell?

That’s when Clarke realizes that not only is she not alone in the bed, but she’s also naked. Holy shit. As she tries to wiggle herself out of the hold of the other person in the bed, she tries to recall the night before. 

She remembers the Mexican restaurant—the tequila shots and the margaritas—and she remembers hitting the club, drinking so much that she lost count as she tucked herself against Bellamy. Whoa, wait a minute. That doesn’t seem right. But yes, she remembers cuddling up to Bellamy but nothing after. 

She stops moving, squeezing her eyes shut. _Please don’t let it be Bellamy. Please don’t let it-_

“Shit,” Bellamy curses behind her before the weight pinning her to the bed is lifted. 

Clarke rolls over to find a wide-eyed Bellamy staring back at her. “Shit is right.” She sits up slowly, pulling the sheet against her naked body as she does so. “What the hell happened last night?”

“I don’t know. The last thing I remember is being at the club and then it’s blank.” Bellamy runs a hand down his face, something flashing in the light against his finger draws Clarke’s attention.

“Uh...Bellamy?” Clarke swallows hard as she points at his left hand, gasping when she sees a ring on her left hand. Nope. Nope. There’s no way this is happening right now.

Bellamy’s eyes are wide as he looks between their hands. “There’s no way that we—no, we couldn’t have. Right?” 

Clarke opens her mouth to respond but stops when there’s a knock at the door. Her head jerks in the direction before she turns back to Bellamy. “Can you get that while I get dressed? And then maybe we can call Josie and Gabe—see if they know what the hell happened last night.”

“Sure.” Bellamy stands up, giving no regard to the fact that he’s naked.

Clarke’s eyes snap shut, but not before she gets an eyeful. Jesus, Bellamy Blake naked is glorious. She bets the sex is amazing as well—too bad she can’t remember it. She opens her eyes again when she hears the door to the bedroom shut. She scrambles out of the bed and grabs clothes from the dresser, dressing quickly before stumbling out.

Josephine and Gabriel sit at the table with Bellamy, who has his head in his hands. Josephine looks up, smiling when she sees Clarke. “Congrats, Clarkey baby!”

Fuck. Shit. Damn. Does this mean what she thinks it means?

“Bellamy already told us that neither of you remembers last night—which honestly isn’t surprising with the way the two of you were throwing them back. But the two of you did, in fact, get married. And so did Gabe and I.” Josephine holds up her hand to show off her own ring.

“We-” Gabriel breaks off as he looks down at his wife. “Well, _I_ tried to convince the two of you that it was a bad idea, but you wouldn’t listen.”

Clarke crashes down into the chair next to Bellamy. “Well, shit.”

Josephine laughs. “That was Bellamy’s response as well.”

“You’re getting way too much joy out of this, Josie,” Clarke moans, peeking at the other girl between her fingers.

“I brought coffee.” Josephine offers her a cup, holding out her other hand to Clarke as well. “And some pain killers for the head.”

Clarke chuckles, reaching out to take both of the offered gifts—at least if she’s going to be an annoying little shit, she’s brought gifts. That makes it a little easier to bear. “Thank you.” She tosses back the pills before taking a long sip of the coffee. Neither, of course, makes her feel better, but she knows that they’ll make her feel less like dying soon.

“We were going to offer to take you out for breakfast—to help with the hangover—but if you guys would rather talk we understand.” Gabriel shrugs.

Clarke risks a glance at Bellamy and their eyes meet for a brief moment before they both jerk their heads. “No, I think that breakfast sounds great.” Clarke shoots them both a grateful smile. “I just need to shower and I’m sure Bellamy will want to shower as well. Give us like forty-five?”

Clarke watches Josephine and Gabriel head to the door before turning to Bellamy. “Do you want to go first?”

“No.” Bellamy shakes his head, still refusing to meet her eyes. “You go ahead and go first. It’ll take you a little longer after showering to get ready.” She thinks he tries to smile, but it ends up looking like a grimace.

Clarke sighs as she makes her way to the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind her. She gets the water running as she sheds her clothes. She cannot believe that this is happening right now. Her eyes drift down to the ring on her finger. She should take it off, but she hesitates. If she takes it off in here it might get lost and she doesn’t want that to happen. She’ll just keep it on for now. 

Clarke tries not to think about the fact that she’s married to Bellamy as she hurries through her shower, but her mind keeps drifting back to it. By the time she’s done with her shower, she’s a nervous wreck. What kind of a person goes to Las Vegas, gets trashed, and marries someone she can’t even stand? Obviously, she does. Then again, she doesn’t _actually_ hate Bellamy. 

Yeah, she hated Bellamy at that first meeting and resented him the entire time they were recording that first duet. But after that? She figures it’s probably partially due to pride and partially because he hates her that she’s continued to pretend to hate him. Hell, she’s had a crush on him since before she met him. That was temporarily set aside upon their first meeting—just another horror story about how wrong meeting your celebrity crushes can go. She doesn’t even know exactly when it came back, but it’s there. 

She is married to her crush that thinks she hates him. This couldn’t happen to anyone else.

She dresses quickly and ducks out of the bathroom, calling out to Bellamy, “It’s all yours.” She keeps her attention diverted while he ducks into the bathroom before she quickly puts on her makeup. She knows that they’re going to need to talk. There’s no way around that. But after breakfast, they’ll have their soundcheck. There will be a break between the soundcheck and the actual concert, so maybe then? She’s not looking forward to it. That’s all she knows. 

She shoots Bellamy a smile as he steps out of the bathroom, grateful for the knock at the door that prevents her from having to say anything to him right now. She rushes over, letting Josephine and Gabriel back into the room. She can do this.

* * *

Bellamy sighs as he steps from the SUV that’s dropping them back at the hotel following soundcheck. He and Clarke have managed to avoid talking to one another unless absolutely necessary. This is nuts—he knows that, but he can’t bring himself to bring it up to her. He’s not ready to hear her say what a mistake it is—not that he doesn’t think getting married while drunk is a mistake, but he also doesn’t think that being married to Clarke would be the worst thing in the world.

But now they have hours until they have to be back to the venue, and Gabriel already told him that he’s on his own. Apparently, he and Josephine have some Christmas Eve tradition that they have to do early since they’ll be at the show later that night. A part of him wanted to ask what it is, but then he realized that if it’s something to do with sex, he’d regret asking—so he just kept his mouth shut.

As the four of them step onto the elevator, he sees Clarke’s shoulder tense as she probably comes to the same realization—once Josephine and Gabriel step off this elevator, they’ll be alone and have no excuse to not talk. If he’s being honest with himself, he doesn’t know what the hell to say to her. This is such a fucking mess.

“We’ll see you guys in a few hours,” Josephine calls with a wave over her shoulder as she leads Gabriel off the elevator. 

Bellamy clears his throat as the doors slide shut behind them, glancing at Clarke from the corner of his eye. He can practically see the tension radiating from her—which he gets. Nothing about this situation is easy. But the elevator isn’t the place for this conversation so he keeps his mouth clamped shut as they ride the rest of the way up. 

He follows Clarke off the elevator and she scans her card, pushing open the door and holding it for him to follow. He winces as the door closes. It’s now or never. He spins around. “Clarke-”

“Bellamy-”

They both burst into laughter and some of the tension drains from the air. Bellamy shoots her a half-smile. “You can go first if you want.”

Clarke shakes her head. “No, I think I’m good with you going first.”

“Okay.” Bellamy scratches the back of his neck. “Do you want to sit?”

Clarke nods but doesn’t say anything as she makes her way over to the couch. She settles onto one side so she chooses to drop down on the other side.

Bellamy bites his lip. He’s honestly not sure where to start. It’s not like there’s a handbook for this kind of thing. “So we’re married.”

“We are.” Clarke starts laughing. “Why is this so hard?”

“Because it’s weird.” Bellamy shakes his head, taking a deep breath. “Can I be honest with you?”

“I mean, I hope so. I am your wife after all.”

Bellamy snorts, shaking his head. “I don’t hate you...like at all.”

Clarke blinks at him for a moment. “But...you…” She shakes her head, letting out a soft laugh. “I don’t hate you either.”

“We’re idiots, aren’t we?” Bellamy asks before running a hand through his hair. “Okay, I want to start this conversation with an apology for six years ago. I was a dick.”

“You were definitely a dick.”

Bellamy narrows his eyes at Clarke, who holds her hands up in surrender. “I really thought you were going to be some talentless brat—which obviously you’re not. Believe it or not, I figured that out the first day that we were working on the duet. But you were still pissed. And then after that, I just didn’t know how to back up the bus. So I just kept pretending.”

“We really are idiots. By the time we finished recording the duet, I wasn’t even mad anymore. And since you were honest with me, I’ll be honest with you.” Clarke takes a deep breath before looking up to meet his eyes. “I’ve had a crush on you for pretty much the whole time. Well, really before I met you. You were my celebrity crush—who turned out to be an asshole. And then not an asshole.”

“Well shit,” Bellamy mutters, causing Clarke to laugh again. 

“So where does this leave us?” Clarke asks as she scoots closer to him on the couch.

Bellamy bites his lip, trying to remember to think before speaking. “Where do you want this to leave us?”

“It would be dumb to start dating someone you’re already married to, wouldn’t it?” 

“Well, we could not be married. If that’s what you want.” Bellamy shrugs. She’s inching closer to him again and his eyes have dropped to her lips. He wants to kiss her. He’s not sure he can focus on the conversation much longer—especially if she keeps licking her lips like that.

Clarke leans forward, brushing her lips against his hesitantly. She pulls away before he’s even had a chance to react. He pushes his hands into her hair, pulling her face back toward his and bringing her lips to his once more. 

Clarke moans as he traces the seam of her lips, and then the kiss deepens. Bellamy doesn’t know what the hell this means, but he sure as hell likes kissing Clarke.

* * *

“Clarke? Bellamy? You were supposed to be downstairs ten minutes ago,” Josephine calls through the door as she knocks.

“Shit,” Clarke curses as she jumps out of the bed, Bellamy doing the same. They both throw on their clothes quickly and make for the door. Clarke pulls it open and tries to push past Josephine, but she stops her.

Josephine looks between the two of them with narrowed eyes before laughing. “You two screwed.”

Clarke feels her face flush as she shoves past Josephine. “We don’t have time for this Josie, we’re late.”

“Yeah, you’re late because you screwed,” Josephine calls down the hallway.

Clarke stops suddenly, Bellamy barely avoiding running into her. She leans around Bellamy to glare at Josephine. “Can you not announce it to the entire hotel?”

“Ha!” Josephine scoffs as she starts walking toward them. “I knew it.”

Clarke rolls her eyes, looking up at Bellamy when he takes her hand and squeezes. The smile he gives her is soft and she can’t even find it in herself to be mad at Josephine. Bellamy intertwines their fingers, and they follow the petite girl down the hallway. 

Clarke knows that they’ll have to stop holding hands once they make it to the lobby—or as soon as someone gets on the elevator—but for now she clings to the sensation of his hand in hers. 

Josephine is correct—they did sleep together (twice), but they also talked. They decided that they wouldn’t worry about annulling the marriage until later. Clarke with her one year of law school under her belt understands how it works, but they decided that they would consult an attorney after the new year. 

In the meantime, neither of them has anything going on until the end of January so they’re going to spend the next month or so getting to know one another properly. They’re going to go on dates and hang out and try the whole dating thing. It’s totally backward and makes no sense, but it feels right to Clarke. And who knows? Maybe they won’t get the marriage annulled. But again, that’s a problem for the new year.

Bellamy squeezes her hand before letting go as they reach the lobby. They find Gabriel waiting impatiently. 

“Sorry man,” Bellamy offers as they step off the elevator. “We lost track of time.”

“Because they were screwing,” Josephine offers quietly.

Clarke takes a deep breath and reminds herself that she loves Josephine. And at least she’d said it quietly this time. She does narrow her eyes at the other girl as she passes her. “Can you shut up about that, please?”

“Not any time soon.”

Which, honestly, is very on-brand for Josephine. So instead of arguing she makes her way to the awaiting car. Once they’re all safely inside Bellamy takes her hand again. She smiles because how can she not? She doesn’t remember a time that she’s been this happy. And to think that it all started with a drunken night and an accidental marriage. Things like this weren’t supposed to happen in real life, but here they are.

It doesn’t take long for them to make it to the venue, and then they’re being rushed inside. They each have their own dressing rooms, but Clarke knows from past experience that Gabriel will get ready in Josephine’s dressing room. She wishes that she could ask Bellamy to get ready with her, but that would raise suspicions that they don’t want to be raised. So instead she gets ready alone.

The concert will take about three hours. Josephine and Gabriel will go on for an hour and then Clarke will go on for forty-five minutes on her own. Bellamy will join her for the next thirty minutes and then he will close the show for the remaining forty-five minutes. 

She makes her way to the backstage area about fifteen minutes before her set starts. She would’ve liked to have caught more of Josephine and Gabe’s performance, but the hair and makeup people took forever getting her ready. She finds Bellamy waiting in the wings. She sidles up beside him, brushing her arm against his and shooting him a warm smile. 

“They sound good,” she says as she peers out onto the stage. “The crowd seems to be enjoying it.”

“They’ll enjoy us more.”

Clarke laughs as she looks up at him. “They always do.”

The duo finishes their current song and Josephine starts speaking to the crowd. “So we have some news that we want to share with you.”

The crowd cheers and Clarke wonders what Josephine is planning to tell them—it can’t be that she and Gabriel got married, can it? This doesn’t seem like the best venue to announce that.

“Gabriel and I decided to fully embrace Las Vegas last night and we got hitched.” Josephine’s voice grows louder with each word until she’s screaming. As soon as she’s finished the crowd lets out a deafening roar. 

“I know, I know,” Josephine says as the crowd slowly begins to fall quiet once more. “And there’s more. We’re not the only ones that got married.”

No. No. She’s not going to tell them, right? She can’t. She’s going to kill her if she does—walk out on the stage and strangle her. She’s pretty sure that’s a justifiable cause, right?

She glances up at Bellamy, who has tensed. Their eyes lock and she sees that Bellamy has realized the same thing that she has—they are so screwed.

“That’s right. You’re getting the scoop before anyone else. My BFF Clarke married Bellamy last night too!”

The roar that the crowd lets out is twice as loud as the previous one. Yup, Clarke is going to kill Josephine. She glances back onto the stage to find Gabriel’s attention on Bellamy and herself. She’s pretty sure that he’s mouthing the word sorry, but she can’t be sure. 

Clarke shakes her head as she looks back up at Bellamy. “Now what are we supposed to do?”

  
  


“Well, we have two options.”  
  


Clarke raises a brow, gesturing with her hand for him to continue. 

“We can just ignore it, play our sets, and get the hell out of here as soon as the show is over.” Bellamy grins down at her.

“And the other option?”

Bellamy shrugs. “We play it up. I kiss you on stage when I come out for our joint set and we just act like two idiots in love.”

“Which we kind of are,” Clarke muses.

Bellamy doesn’t say anything, just nods. He’s leaving this decision up to her. Obviously, this isn’t the way that they planned for this to go, but what’s done is done. And she can already imagine the crowd’s response if they were to kiss on stage.

“Fuck it.” She grins up at him. “You better make it one damn good kiss.”

Bellamy returns her smile. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

And it is a damn good kiss—it’s all anyone can talk about for weeks.


End file.
